Increasingly, education systems are being privatized through various changes to organizational structures, to school management, and to funding mechanisms. Yet education remains publicly funded and therefore accountable to taxpayer preferences through voting mandates. This paper investigates the determinants of political support for the…

Provides a feminist critique of the literature on parental involvement and school choice. Two research studies demonstrate mothers' critical importance in their children's education at home and at school. Mothers normally invest more time and energy than fathers in child-rearing and school associations. Working-class boys' underachievement may…

The entrepreneur behind the Edison Project and Channel One shares his observations about the unfairness of public school critics, the "tyranny" of operational demands, and the promise of national school companies for underemployed teachers and research and development ventures. Praising public schools for being receptive to new concepts,…

Notes how the British Army's Officer Corps, based on elitism and financial standing, brought the British Empire to its knees. Argues that privatization--a for-profit market system to ration out education--would have a similar effect. Suggests that charter schools (with considerable autonomy but still held accountable by the chain of command) are…

Describes the Broward County (Florida) Research and Evaluation Department's assessment of a Sylvan Learning Systems remedial reading program employed in two district schools during 1993-94. Sylvan staff adequately equipped both sites, appropriately used diagnostic tests for placing students, implemented motivation and direct-instruction…

Public school districts signing on with private companies to provide services need to set up contracts with performance standards. Provides seven general advice tips about what to include in contracts and case studies of what three school districts have done in setting up contracts with private companies. (MLF)

By pooling talents and resources of seasoned educators and the private sector, Education Alternatives, Inc. is invigorating school systems in several urban areas, including Dade County, Florida; Baltimore, Maryland; and Hartford, Connecticut. A private-public partnership has two advantages over conventionally managed districts: readily available…

The Wilkinsburg (Pennsylvania) School Board's decision to hire Alternative Public Schools, a private company, to manage a failing elementary school has alienated the teacher union and many town residents. If teachers lose their court challenge, Turner School will become the only U.S. public school to be both privately staffed and managed. (MLH)

Charles Whittle's Edison Project aims to create 1,000 efficient schools driven by technology and the marketplace; students will supposedly generate high test scores and become competitive, proficient workers. Those opposing the profit motive's incursion into public education predict that the Edison Project and other privatization efforts will…

Before signing on with a private firm to manage schools, school boards should consider whether privatization will save the school district and the taxpayers money, lessen bureaucracy, and lead to higher test scores or other objective measures of improvement. In addition, boards should ask whether the proposal is free of bias and whether the…

Israel has recently seen the growth of a movement demanding greater parental choice and more diversity in public schools. This article examines the state-supported TALI (or reinforcing Jewish studies) schools, focusing on a study analyzing the motives behind parental choice and the effects of choice on the social and cultural composition of…

A group of 100 experts, backed by marketer Chris Whittle, will convene in January 1992 to invent a new, for-profit U.S. school. Whittle also plans to offer his proprietary school design to public schools and/or contract to administer schools or districts. Privatization benefits and concerns are debated. Sidebars profile Whittle and other education…

Besides endorsing a children's bill of rights, teachers at this year's annual National Education Association meeting urged a moratorium on most standardized testing, opposed a federally mandated national test, urged teacher study programs to include courses promoting multicultural education, agreed to a many-sided analysis of Christopher…

Discusses three ideologies relating to school design that attempt to positively address functional and technical trends in school construction. Discusses privatization and the ideologies of schools as marketplaces and communities, as well as cautionary comments on technology's influence on replacing the traditional school facility. (GR)

Discusses survey results that show a school district's aversion to privatize noneducational services. Top reasons why some school districts and colleges turn to, or resist, privatization are provided. Also revealed are the administrators who are most likely to be directly involved in privatization efforts and statistics on how much privatization…